Justice League Is ‘Direct Sequel’ To Batman V Superman

Justice League has been confirmed to take place immediately after the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The upcoming ensemble piece from DC Extended Universe will see the banding together of the franchise’s existing and upcoming biggest characters. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg come together for the first time to protect the earth from the imminent arrival of Steppenwolf together with his pack of Parademons and prevent them from getting a hold of the powerful Motherboxes that could spell the world’s end.

Batman V Superman did not exactly end on a high note. Despite the fact that Doomsday was defeated and Lex Luthor exposed and locked behind bars, mankind is in mourning with the death of Superman. Granted that we all know that the powerful Kryptonian will eventually rise from the dead, as the Justice League arguably just could not work (plus the tease in the film itself), Justice League will pick up in a world where there is no Man of Steel and his absence, no matter how long it will be until he is resurrected, will have ripple effects throughout the movie.

The confirmation has come courtesy of the latest issue of Total Film (via We Got This Covered) where the magazine has a feature for Justice League. As it turns out, DC’s first official ensemble movie will be a “direct sequel” to Batman V Superman and will start with “Superman in the grave after sacrificing himself during the battle against Doomsday. Batman and Wonder Woman are gathered in mourning before Steppenwolf makes himself known, leaving the duo to team up with other enhanced heroes.”

Justice League directly feeding off of the superhero showdown between two of DC’s biggest and most popular characters is a great way to tie the existing DC films together in an effort to make a more cohesive overall narrative for the franchise. That said, it would be interesting where the events of Suicide Squad, which also dealt with the aftermath of Superman’s death, exactly fits in DCEU’s supposed linear timeline. The same goes with Wonder Woman‘s contemporary day setting where she is seen getting back into her superhero gig after swearing off of it in Batman V Superman. Given that at that point, she already has an existing relationship with Bruce Wayne, it should take place after she joined the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel in their fight against Doomsday.

With just less than three months before Justice Leaguehits theaters in November, reshoots are still currently ongoing with Batgirl director Joss Whedon overseeing it following Zack Snyder’s exit from the project due to a family tragedy. Over the last several weeks, rumors continue to swirl around the production with rumors of the significant changes being done on the project. Despite this, Snyder is said to still fairly involved with his original plan supposedly still the blueprint being followed through all the additional work done for the film.